Bartonella (Bartonellosis)

Veterinarians are the canaries in the coal mine by which physicians will ultimately understand human bartonellosis - Ed Breitschwerdt DVM

Bartonella (Bartonellosis)
Bartonella (Bartonellosis)

image by: Life with Bartonella

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Bartonella - The Major Threat You’ve Never Heard Of

“If you were to pull out current medical textbooks, they’d state that Bartonella is essentially two things: an infection in immunocompromised individuals, such as AIDS patients or transplant recipients,” says Dr. Breitschwerdt.

“Or, an infection that’s transmitted by cats, which is Cat Scratch Disease. If our research holds up, which it’s been doing world-wide, when combined, immunocompromise-linked disease and CSD will be just the tip of the iceberg.”

“That’s because there’s good evidence Bartonella affects the human nervous system, the cardiovascular system, and the skeletal system, particularly joints, causing rheumatologic symptoms,” he continues. “Immunologically,…

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 Bartonella - The Major Threat You’ve Never Heard Of

“If you were going to design the perfect pathogen to hide under the radar, Bartonella would be a good model,” he says. Compare it, for example, to covid-19, which he describes as a “frontal pathogen,” meaning the virus immediately attacks and tries to overwhelm its victim’s immune system. That way, it can cause rapid spread through respiratory secretions.

Steven Phillips, MD

Bartonellosis consists of a large group of infections caused by Bartonella species. Bartonella are ubiquitous bacteria that can be transmitted by the bites of a broad range of arthropod vectors (in other words, bug bites) and by contact with body fluids and tissues from infected animals. Some bugs that spread bartonella include fleas, lice, ticks, and biting flies.

Battling Bartonellosis

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CDC

Several species of Bartonella bacteria cause disease in people. Infection with any one of these bacteria is referred to broadly as bartonellosis, although some forms of infection also have common names (for example, cat scratch disease). Bartonella bacteria are spread to humans by fleas, body lice, sand flies, or contact with flea-infested animals.

NORD

Human diseases that have been identified to be caused by one of the Bartonella spp bacteria include cat scratch disease (Bartonella henselae), Carrion’s disease (Bartonella bacilliformis), and trench fever (Bartonella quintana).

StatPearls

Bartonellosis is the term used to describe any infectious disease produced by the bacteria Bartonella. These include trench fever, Oroya fever, Carrion's disease cat scratch disease, peliosis hepatis, etc.

Worms & Germs Blog

Transmission of B. henselae from cats to humans is thought to occur through contamination of scratches and bites (broken skin) with flea dirt (i.e. partially digested blood from the infected animal that is excreted by fleas = flea poop). Infection in individuals with weakened immune systems can be extremely serious or even fatal. In otherwise healthy people, the infection tends to remain localized, but can still cause massive swelling and abscessation of local lymph nodes.

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